1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates o a box for the storage of magnetic members such as diskettes, cards or the like. In general, said members are used in a memory control means such as disk-reading apparatus, typewriter with word processor, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The box in which these members are stored has to be tight in order to protect them against dusts or other external agents liable to damage the magnetic data. It should also be so designed as to present the members in the best possible way for identification and to help selection, all of which operations are performed when the box is opened and with most of the members in it. Finally, said box should be produced for the lowest price possible.
French patent application No. 2 498 357 U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,628 describes a box for storing diskettes. Said box comprises a body constituted by a base, side walls and a front part. It further comprises a lid constituted by a top part, side walls, a back part and bracket means defining between them a receptacle for the diskettes, said bracket means being notched so as to present access clearances at the top, on the sides and in the middle. The body and lids are in molded plastics and form a monolithic assembly since the back of the lid is joined to the bottom of the body via a continuous hinge formed in molding. Moreover, the bracket means are secured to the sides of the lid via lug pieces engaging into notches and said lid sides are joined to the sides of the body via means permitting a restriction of the opening of the lid and is immobilization in that position. When the box is open, the base of the body rests on the desk and the lid is inclined forward in order to give access to the receptacle defined by said lid and by the bracket means on which the diskettes are then resting.
The drawback with this box is that identification and selection of the diskettes are relatively uneasy, so much so that the user is tempted to take them all out and to replace those that he does not need. This results in a waste of time, with a risk for the diskettes to be damaged and unnecessary irritation for the staff. In addition, the box is relatively expensive, because of the bracket means, although this can be molded substantially flat owing to a continuous hinge between the top and back of the lid.
French Pat. No. 2,456,671 U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,637 describes a box for the packing of a magnetic cassette. Said box comprises a body constituted by a base, side walls, a back part, and a rear upper part, all of which define a receptacle for housing diskettes. Said box further comprises a lid constituted by a front upper part, side walls and a frontal part. The body and lid are in molded plastics and are joined together so as to form a monolithic assembly which can nevertheless be opened seeing that the rear upper part of the body and the front upper part of the lid are joined together by a continuous hinge formed by molding.
Said box, however, has no means of determining the opening of the lid and of holding it inclined in such a way that, if diskettes were stored in the box, they would not be presented in readable and accessible manner, nor could they be picked up for selection. But one interesting fact is that this box is less expensive than the aforesaid box.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of these two known containers, by re-grouping their advantages and adding in others. Thus, some of their suitably selected means are regrouped and combined together as well as with novel means.